Minneapolis Skyline Photo Tour

Introduction

While driving north on I-35W to check out the progress on the new
Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, I happened to take a photo of downtown
Minneapolis just as I was approaching the right-hand turn on I-35W.
Despite shooting through my windshield, the photo turned out pretty
nice. The key feature of this photo is that it was taken from a
location that would be hard to duplicate on foot.

Click on any numbered dot or scroll down to read about each building.
Note—you may need to open your browser window wider than normal
to see the full picture.
Click here for a large copy of the photo above
without the numbered dots.

#1 - I-35W Freeway

I-35W is the major north-south freeway through Minneapolis, and the section
south of the downtown area is the busiest road in the state with nearly
200,000 cars per day on the highway. When it was built, someone got the
bright idea to put a sharp 90-degree corner on the freeway just as it
enters the commons area with I-94 as the southern edge of downtown.

One of several churches located in downtown Minneapolis. The church was
founded in 1917 and quickly grew. They built this neo-gothic cathedral
starting in 1924, dedicating it on Palm Sunday in 1928. The church
believes that it is the largest Lutheran church structure in the US.

17 story office building was built in 1986 for the Kinnard Investment
Company. They do both retail and institutional investing. The building
has had a history of vacant floors. Ruth's Chris is located on the ground
floor. Building is part of 3 building complex with the AT&T Tower
and Oracle Centre.

34 story tower completed in 1991 is part of a 3 building complex with the
Kinnard Center and Oracle Centre. The slanted glass is supposed
to remind viewers of the microwave antennas that are typically placed at
the top of AT&T buildings. Tenants include Wachovia Bank, Xcel
Energy, and Fair Isaac (of FICO score fame).

Oracle leased much of the space in this 20 story building completed in
1984. As a result, they received naming rights. The building was
previous known as International Center, and was 65% vacant when Oracle
signed the deal.

Completed in 1974, the IDS Centre is 775 feet tall. It was the first
modern skyscraper built in the Twin Cities. It was build for IDS
Financial Services, which became American Express in 1984, which is
now known as Ameriprise Financial. Ameriprise moved out of the IDS
Center in 2002. Target Stores also used this as a headquarters until
2002. Today, the 57 story icon is occupied by smaller tenants who want
a signature downtown address.

This 52 story tower is 668 feet tall. It is the tallest building west of
Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. It was formerly known as the
Multifoods Tower. The namesake, International Multifoods, was sold off
piece by piece in the late 1980s, with the final chunk going to Nestle.
Tenants include Target and several large law firms. The lower levels
feature the City Center Mall and a Marriott hotel.

The Foshay Tower is the original skyscraper in Minneapolis. It was finished
in 1929 just in time for the stock market crash. At 447 feet tall and 32
floors, it was the tallest building in the upper Midwest until the the
IDS Center opened. The tower reopened in 2008
as a hotel with a 31st floor observation deck.

The Investors Building is part of a 4 building complex known as the
Baker Block along with the Baker, Roanoke, and Peavey Buildings. It
originally called the Arcade Building. The first 5 floors were finished
in 1927. A sixth floor was added in 1929. The 7th through 13th floors
were added in the 1960s. The building was once home to International
Multifoods, and later IDS Financial Services. The Baker Center is the
backbone of the downtown skyway system. The complex features
Peter's Grill, a retro style diner that is retro only because they haven't
changed a thing since the 1960s. President Bill Clinton stopped in for
lunch one Friday afternoon in 1995.

TCF Tower is the home of TCF Bank. The bank started in 1923 as a building
and loan association. It became a Savings and Loan, then switched to being
a federal bank, and later, a national bank. The bank focuses on retail
customers with smaller accounts. TCF pioneered being open first on
Saturday, and later on Sunday at grocery store outlets. The 17 floor
building has been renovated twice to keep up to date with a fresh look.

This 6 story building covers an entire city block. It is owned by
Ameriprise, formerly IDS and formerly American Express. It houses their
computer center, IT staff, and business operations. It is built as a
building within a building. The inner building has large steel plates
that can drop down over the windows in the event of a tornado or other
issue. There are 4 railroad locomotive engines on the roof for backup
power, with 2 running at any given time. There is also a huge diesel
tank under the building to supply fuel to the generators.

The Northwestern National Bank Building once stood at this spot. It burned
in 1982. The replacement building is this 774 foot tall art deco style
masterpiece designed by Cesar Pelli. It opened as the Norwest Center.
Norwest Bank was bought out Wells Fargo, but retained the Wells Fargo name
and moved their HQ to California. Wells Fargo still maintains some
space in the tower. The tower is lit up at night, with a shadow on the
side that represents the old bank building.

This 42 floor glass tower was built in 1985 for Piper Jaffray, a local
investment company. Piper Jaffray moved to a new building on Nicollet
Mall. This tower then became a multi-tenant building. Advertising
firm Campbell Mithun leased a number of floors and was granted naming
rights to the building. As a result, it became the Campbell Mithun Tower
in 2002.

The Hilton Garden Inn is still under construction as of October, 2008.
It is located very close to the convention center, so it cannot help but
be successful. The building is located at the former site of the MN-DOT
Traffic Management Center. The TMC moved to Roseville and their old
building was demolished, making the space available.

Completed in 2002, this 15 floor building was built for American Express
Financial Advisors, now known as Ameriprise Financial. AM/EX had people
spread across as many as 15 different buildings at one time. This
building, which occupies an entire city block, allowed AM/EX to locate
all of its customer support staff in one location.

This 31 story building was custom built for American Express Financial
Advisors, now known as Ameriprise Financial. At 498 feet tall, it is
the tallest single tenant building in the city. AM/EX was previously
headquartered in the IDS Center, but had people in buildings all over
downtown. When completed in 2000, it was a major step in AM/EX effort
to consolidate along 3rd Avenue South.

Building was developed in the late 1980s to be a new regional center for
IBM. IBM suffered serious setbacks before the building was completed. When
it opened, IBM occupied the side tower, and First Bank was the lead tenant.
It was named First Bank Place, and later US Bancorp Center after the merger
with United Bank. US Bancorp then bought Piper Jaffray, and moved their
HQ to the new Piper Jaffray building on Nicollet Mall. The complex was
renamed 225 South Sixth. Capella University expanded its space
in the tower and was awarded naming rights. Signature feature of the
776 foot tall 56 floor building is the illuminated hat over the roof.

The 5th Street Towers were developed by Opus and are mostly occupied by
attorneys and professionals. Tower 1 was completed in 1987 at 26 floors,
while Tower 2 was completed in 1988 at 36 floors. The taller tower is
504 feet tall. Both buildings have a common lobby, skyway level, parking
ramp, and they feature green neon lighting that runs across the top of
the towers.

This two tower complex was built for Pillsbury in 1981 as the Pillsbury
Center. Tower 1 is 41 floors and 561 feet tall, while tower 2 is 23
floors and 321 feet tall. Pillsbury was bought by General Mills and
moved out of complex. US Bank leased the buildings and renamed the
complex to US Bank Plaza. General Mills retains a small amount of
space in the building. The balance of the space is occupied by several
large law firms.

The Park Tower is a 20 story mid-rise tower that is part of the 225 South
Sixth complex. The building was designed with two towers to reflect the
two personalities of the lead tenants. IBM was the first tenant in the
Park Tower. American Express Financial Advisors leased the IBM space
in the late 1990s.

Grant Park is a large condo, townhome, and cityhome project built between
2002 and 2005. The main tower is 28 floors. While the housing units are
nice, and the building is attractive, it does block the view of a large
section of downtown Minneapolis when viewed from the I-35W freeway.

The Hennepin County Government Center is a 24 story tall building that
houses county offices and county courts. It is built as two parallel
towers connected by skyways. The towers are connected by a network
of steel beans designed to strengthen the building against earthquakes.
From the side, the building resembles the county logo, a large brown
letter H.

This 21 story glass mid-rise tower was built in 1984 for investment
company Craig-Hallum, and was known as the Craig-Hallum tower. It
was remodeled in 1996, and renamed the 701 Building as part of an
image makeover. While the hexagonal design is interesting, the building
has had a hard time attracting tenants. It was more than 60% vacant
in 2007.

Completed in 1985, Centre Village is a unique combination of commercial and
residential space. The building has a ground level retail area, skyway
connections, parking ramp, Embassy Suites Hotel, 9 floors of condos, and
then 3 stories of office space. The city participated in the development
process to encourage housing in downtown and it operates the parking ramp.

The downtown Minneapolis Energy Center provides steam and cooling water
to over 100 buildings in downtown Minneapolis. This is a much more
efficient way to heat and cool buildings in an urban area than to have
each building with its own energy infrastructure. NRG was formed in
1989 by a merger of several smaller regional energy companies.